For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’
C H Spurgeon
Amid all this gloom there was one gleam of light: For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that comethin the name of the Lord. After his death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus, appeared many times to his disciples, but not once to the unbelieving Jews. His personal ministry to them was at an end; but it would be renewed when he should come to them a second time, without a sin-offering, unto salvation, and then they would say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Long ages have passed since the King went away into the far country. The signs of the times all tell us that his coming draweth nigh. Oh, that Christians and Jews alike were on the look-out for the true Messiah, whose message to all is, Behold, I am coming quickly!
Albert Barnes
The day of your mercy is gone by. I have offered you protection and salvation, and you have rejected it. You are about to crucify me, and your temple to be destroyed, and you, as a nation, to be given up to long and dreadful suffering. You will not see me as a merciful Saviour, offering you redemption any more, until you have borne these heavy judgments. They must come upon you, and be borne, until you would be glad to hail a deliverer, and say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed be he that comes as the Messiah, to bring deliverance. ....
John Calvin
For I tell you. He confirms what he had said about the approaching vengeance of God by saying that the only method of avoiding destruction will be taken from them. For that was the accepted time, the day of salvation, (Isa 49:8; 2 Co 6:2) so long as that very person. who had come to be their Redeemer, attested and proclaimed the redemption which he had brought. But, at his departure, as at the setting of the sun, the light of life vanished; and therefore this dreadful calamity, which he threatens, must of necessity fall upon them.
Until you say. We come now to inquire what period is denoted by this phrase. Some restrict it to the last day of judgment. Others think that it is a prediction, which was soon afterwards fulfilled, when some of the Jews humbly adored Christ. But I do not approve of either of these interpretations. And I am certainly astonished that learned men should have stumbled at so small an obstacle, by taking great pains to inquire how unbelievers can say concerning Christ, Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord; for he does not declare what they will be, but what he himself will do. And even the adverb until extends no farther than to the time which goes before.....
... the true meaning ... in my opinion, is this: “Hitherto I have lived among you in humility and kindness, and have discharged the office of a teacher; and so having finished the course of my calling, I shall depart, and it will not be possible for you any longer to enjoy my presence, but him whom you now despise as a Redeemer and a minister of salvation, you will find to be your Judge.” In this manner the passage agrees with ... They shall look on him whom they pierced (Zec 12:10; Jn 19:37). But Christ appears also to make an indirect allusion to their vain hypocrisy, because, as if they ardently longed for the promised salvation, they sung daily the words of the psalm, Blessed be he ... etc (Ps 118:26) while they treated with scorn the Redeemer ... offered to them. In short, he declares that he will not come to them until, trembling at the sight of his dreadful majesty, they shall exclaim - when it is too late - that truly he is the Son of God. And this threatening is addressed to all despisers of the gospel, more especially to those who falsely profess his name, while they reject his doctrine; for they will one day acknowledge that they cannot escape the hands of him whom they now mock by their hypocritical pretensions. For the same song is now sung by the Papists, who, after all, care nothing about Christ, until, armed with vengeance, he ascends his tribunal. We are also reminded, that so long as Christ exhibits himself to us in the name of the Father as the herald of salvation and Mediator, we ought not only to honour him with our lips, but sincerely to wish that he would make us and the whole world subject to himself.
Albert Barnes
The day of your mercy is gone by. I have offered you protection and salvation, and you have rejected it. You are about to crucify me, and your temple to be destroyed, and you, as a nation, to be given up to long and dreadful suffering. You will not see me as a merciful Saviour, offering you redemption any more, until you have borne these heavy judgments. They must come upon you, and be borne, until you would be glad to hail a deliverer, and say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed be he that comes as the Messiah, to bring deliverance. ....
John Calvin
For I tell you. He confirms what he had said about the approaching vengeance of God by saying that the only method of avoiding destruction will be taken from them. For that was the accepted time, the day of salvation, (Isa 49:8; 2 Co 6:2) so long as that very person. who had come to be their Redeemer, attested and proclaimed the redemption which he had brought. But, at his departure, as at the setting of the sun, the light of life vanished; and therefore this dreadful calamity, which he threatens, must of necessity fall upon them.
Until you say. We come now to inquire what period is denoted by this phrase. Some restrict it to the last day of judgment. Others think that it is a prediction, which was soon afterwards fulfilled, when some of the Jews humbly adored Christ. But I do not approve of either of these interpretations. And I am certainly astonished that learned men should have stumbled at so small an obstacle, by taking great pains to inquire how unbelievers can say concerning Christ, Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord; for he does not declare what they will be, but what he himself will do. And even the adverb until extends no farther than to the time which goes before.....
... the true meaning ... in my opinion, is this: “Hitherto I have lived among you in humility and kindness, and have discharged the office of a teacher; and so having finished the course of my calling, I shall depart, and it will not be possible for you any longer to enjoy my presence, but him whom you now despise as a Redeemer and a minister of salvation, you will find to be your Judge.” In this manner the passage agrees with ... They shall look on him whom they pierced (Zec 12:10; Jn 19:37). But Christ appears also to make an indirect allusion to their vain hypocrisy, because, as if they ardently longed for the promised salvation, they sung daily the words of the psalm, Blessed be he ... etc (Ps 118:26) while they treated with scorn the Redeemer ... offered to them. In short, he declares that he will not come to them until, trembling at the sight of his dreadful majesty, they shall exclaim - when it is too late - that truly he is the Son of God. And this threatening is addressed to all despisers of the gospel, more especially to those who falsely profess his name, while they reject his doctrine; for they will one day acknowledge that they cannot escape the hands of him whom they now mock by their hypocritical pretensions. For the same song is now sung by the Papists, who, after all, care nothing about Christ, until, armed with vengeance, he ascends his tribunal. We are also reminded, that so long as Christ exhibits himself to us in the name of the Father as the herald of salvation and Mediator, we ought not only to honour him with our lips, but sincerely to wish that he would make us and the whole world subject to himself.
